The typification of the name Juniperus navicularis (Cupressaceae) is provided, based on a thorough literature review and examination of original herbarium material deposited in the Gandoger collection (LY). In addition to discussing the historical background of the name and various assignments by different authors, we further studied additional types from Portuguese collections (LISU, COI, and PO) and other historical herbaria (H and P), cited in the species protologue.
Abstract Spatial predictions of intra-annual ecological variation enhance ecological understanding and inform decision-making. Unfortunately, it is often challenging to use statistical or machine learning techniques to make such predictions, due to the scarcity of systematic, long-term observational data. Conversely, opportunistic time-stamped observation records, supported by highly informative data such as photographs, are increasingly available for diverse ecological phenomena in many regions. However, a general framework for predicting such phenomena using opportunistic data remains elusive. Here, we introduce a novel framework that leverages the concept of relative phenological niche to model observation records as a sample of temporal environmental conditions in which the represented ecological phenomenon occurs. We demonstrate its application using two distinct, management-relevant, ecological events: the emergence of the adult stage of the invasive Japanese beetle ( Popillia japonica ), and of fruiting bodies of the winter chanterelle mushroom ( Craterellus tubaeformis ). The framework accounts for spatial and temporal biases in observation data, and it contrasts the temporal environmental conditions (e.g., in temperature, precipitation, wind speed, etc.) associated with the observation of these events to those available in their occurrence locations. To discriminate between the two sets of conditions, we employ machine-learning algorithms (boosted regression trees and random forests). The proposed approach can accurately predict the temporal dynamics of ecological events across large geographical scales. Specifically, it successfully predicted the intra-annual timing of occurrence of adult Japanese beetles and of winter chanterelle mushrooms across Europe and North America. We further validate the approach by successfully predicting the timing of occurrence of adult Japanese beetles in Northern Italy, a recent hotspot of invasion in continental Europe, and the winter chanterelle mushroom in Denmark, a country with a high number of records of this mushroom. These results were also largely insensitive to temporal bias in recording effort. Our results highlight the potential of opportunistic observation data to predict the temporal variation of a wide range of ecological phenomena in near real-time. Furthermore, the conceptual and methodological framework is intuitive and easily applicable for the large number of ecologists already using machine-learning and statistical-based predictive approaches.
Le clade Amidella en Europe (Basidiomycota: Amanitaceae): clarification du controversé Amanita valens (E.-J.Gilbert) Bertault et importance de l'utilisation de primers PCR spécifiques aux taxons pour l'identification. Les espèces de Amanita ser. Amidella (E.-J.Gilbert) Neville & Poumarat forment un clade bien défini, mais certains taxons restent difficiles à discriminer. En particulier, le concept d'Amanita valens (E.-J.Gilbert) Bertault reste controversé. Pour comprendre le placement phylogénétique d'un ensemble de collections du sud du Portugal avec un nouveau barcode nrDNA, nous avons obtenu des séquences nrDNA pour des collections type non évaluées auparavant. Le taxon précédemment décrit comme A. curtipes f. pseudovalens Neville & Poumarat est interprété comme une espèce distincte, A. pseudovalens comb. nov., stat. nov., et est génétiquement indistinct de ces collections portugaises, clarifiant ainsi leur contexte taxonomique. Cependant, la morphologie et l'écologie de nos collections sont distinctes (respectivement, basidiospores ellipsoïdes à oblongues et occurrence sur des sols schisteux), et sont proposées comme une nouvelle variété, Amanita pseudovalens var. tartessiana var. nov. Ces développements permettent également de mieux diagnostiquer les taxons d'Amidella en Europe, progrès décisif pour les récoltes de la fin de l'hiver au printemps, et une clé d'identification est proposée. Malgré tout, la cooccurrence et la similitude morphologique de la nouvelle variété avec la très appréciée et comestible A. ponderosa Malençon & R.Heim pourrait laisser certaines collections non résolues. Ainsi, une approche de marqueurs moléculaires a été développée, afin de fournir une aide claire et économique à l'identification pour complémenter la clé. Les outils de diagnostic proposés peuvent être appliqués à une révision de la chorologie des taxons d'Amidella européens à partir des enregistrements existants, des matériaux conservés et des collections futures.
Pardiela's stream watershed was selected for a preliminary test of an ecological assessment through the appli- cation of the Potentiality Distance Index (PDI) methodology, based on current and potential vegetation maps. This analy- sis reveals the distance of a given vegetation community from its optimal potential state (climax) and the final PDI values portray the conservation status of the territory and allow the sketching of its needs for recovery or protection. Hence, territory management policies can subsequently be adjusted for better land use and biodiversity conservation. For this reason, this methodology can be an important step for landscape planning because it allows the adjustment of devel- opment proposals and activity monitoring. The final PDI value for the study area is 0.2509, indicating that Pardiela's basin conservation status is moderate.
(3053) Juniperus navicularis Gand. in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 57: 55. Mar (sero) 1910 [Gymnosp.: Cupress.], nom. cons. prop. Lectotypus ([second-step] hic designatus): Portugal, [Alentejo Litoral, Grândola], Tróia, Feb 1888, Daveau 1346 (P barcode P01620796 [upper specimen with cones]; isolectotypus: P barcode P01620797). (=) Juniperus microphylla Antoine, Cupress.-Gatt.: 23. 1857, nom. rej. prop. Lectotypus (hic designatus): Portugal, [Setúbal], "in pinetis prope Setúbal", Nov 1839, Welwitsch [Unio Itin. 1841] 80 (K barcode K000089212; isolectotypus: P barcode P01569863). (=) Juniperus hochstetteri Antoine, Cupress.-Gatt.: 23. 1857, nom. rej. prop. Lectotypus (hic designatus): Portugal, [Setúbal], "in Monte Arabida", Apr 1838, Hochstetter 433 (K barcode K000089213). Juniperus navicularis Gand. (in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 57: 55. 1910) was described as a new species, based on samples collected from different localities in Portugal. These included surroundings of the villages of Coina, Tróia, Alcácer do Sal and Grândola, all in the Setúbal region. The species was treated as J. oxycedrus var. brachyphylla Loret by Loret (in Billot, Annot. Fl. France Allemagne: 282. 1865) and by Coutinho (in Bol. Soc. Brot. 24: 136. 1909). Franco (in Feddes Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 68: 166. 1963) gave it subspecies rank within J. oxycedrus L. (Sp. Pl.: 1038. 1753) as J. oxycedrus subsp. transtagana Franco, and later Silba (in Phytologia Mem. 7: 35. 1984) recombined it as J. oxycedrus var. transtagana (Franco) Silba. Over five decades before Gandoger's publication, Antoine (Cupress.-Gatt.: 23. 1857) described Juniperus microphylla and cited a collection made by Welwitsch near Setúbal, Portugal. He also included photographs (Antoine, l.c.: t. 31–32) of specimens of this collection from the Royal Herbarium in Berlin (B) and the Imperial Botanical Museum in Vienna (W), both specimens now destroyed. The protologue refers undoubtedly to J. navicularis, as it describes the leaves as 4–10 mm long and about 2 mm wide and the cones as nearly 7.5 mm in diameter. The name J. microphylla was validly published so it has priority at specific rank (Art. 11.2 of the ICN, Turland & al. in Regnum Veg. 159. 2018). Although Farjon (Monogr. Cupressac. & Sciadopithys: 267. 2005) designated the "Illustration in Antoine, Cupress.-Gatt: s.n., t. 31-32 (1857)" as "lectotype" this has no standing, both because he indicated two elements (t. 31 and t. 32) as type and because he selected an illustration, in violation of Art. 9.12 (see Ex. 12), when isosyntypes of the Welwitsch collection (Iter Lusitanicum no. 80) exist at K (barcode K000089212, see http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/K000089212), designated here as lectotype, and P (barcode P01569863, see https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p01569863). The name J. microphylla has been mistakenly cited, without explanation, in the synonymy of J. communis L. (Sp. Pl.: 1040. 1753) by Farjon (l.c. 2005: 267), Adams (Junipers World: Gen. Juniperus, ed. 4: 124, 406. 2014), and by Al-Snafi (Indo Amer. J. Pharm. Sci. 5: 1780. 2018). Another species described by Antoine (l.c.: 23) was Juniperus hochstetteri, and a specimen collected by Hochstetter in "Monte Arabida" in Portugal was mentioned and photographed (l.c.: t. 33) at W (now destroyed). The Latin diagnosis describes the leaves as being short, almost blunt, naviculate, ca. 2–6 mm long, and the seeds as being small, elliptic-triangular – traits that allow identification with J. navicularis; even if J. macrocarpa Sm. (in Sibthorp & Smith, Fl. Graec. Prodr. 2: 263. 1816) s.l. had occurred there at that time, the cones, leaves and seeds are very different, longer and wider in all their dimensions. The photograph included by Antoine (l.c.: t. 33), though featuring an unusually obovate fruit, also matches J. navicularis. The place of collection must be regarded as the surroundings of the Serra da Arrábida between Setúbal and Sesimbra, where the only species in Juniperus sect. Juniperus is J. navicularis. The name was similarly lectotypified by Farjon (l.c. 2005: 348) on the illustration in Antoine (l.c.: t. 33); however, this selection also violates Art. 9.12, as an isosyntype exists at K (barcode K000089213, see http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/K000089213), which is here designated as lectotype. For reasons unknown, Farjon (in Edinburgh J. Bot. 49: 267. 1992) erroneously listed J. hochstetteri in the synonymy of the East African J. procera Hochst. ex Endl. (Syn. Conif.: 26. 1847), and this synonymy is also found in Farjon (l.c. 2005: 348), Adams (l.c.: 261, 405), and Bussmann & al. (Ethnobot. Mount. Regions Afr.: 619. 2020). The name Juniperus navicularis has been accepted and used by several authors, such as Franco (in Castroviejo & al., Fl. Iber. 1: 186. 1986, in Tutin & al., Fl. Eur. 1: 47. 1993), Adams & al. (in Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 31: 375–387. 2003), Sánchez & al. (in Revista Soc. Gaditana Hist. Nat. 5: 49–50. 2008), Castro & al. (in Pl. Growth Regulat. 65: 223–230. 2011), Adams (l.c.: 232–233), Boratyński & al. (in Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 174: 637–653. 2014), Díez-Garretas & al. (in Pl. Biosyst. 151: 168–173. 2016), Castro & al. (in Lazaroa 37: 1–11. 2016), Farhat & al. (in Frontiers Pl. Sci. (Lausanne) 10: 676. 2019), and Gutiérrez-Larruscain & al. (in Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 199: 108162. 2024). It has also been accepted in Spanish laws concerning protection of flora. Farjon (l.c. 2005: 335) designated the syntype Daveau 1346 at P as lectotype of J. navicularis, but there are two duplicates of this gathering there (barcodes P01620796 and P01620797). His lectotypification, representing a single gathering, must be accepted as a "first-step" lectotype under Art. 9.17, and a second-step lectotype (P01620796), coinciding with Farjon's preference as indicated only on the specimen and thus ineffective (Art. 6.1), is designated here. Recently Ferreira & al. (in Phytotaxa 660: 181–190. 2024), in ignorance of Farjon's typification, ineffectively designated (Art. 9.19) a Gandoger collection at LY (barcode LY0772612) as lectotype. On the other hand, Juniperus microphylla and J. hochstetteri have only been accepted by Antoine, so the resurrection of either would lead to nomenclatural instability. This is why we propose the conservation of the name Juniperus navicularis against these heterotypic synonyms. We are grateful to Nina Davies, Priscila Reis, Ana Rita Simões and Marie-Helene Weech (K), for facilitating the access to the specimen imagery catalogue at the RBG Kew Herbarium and acknowledge the contributions of John McNeill and John Wiersema in the revision and correction of the proposal.
As relict traces of the Tertiary period, Quercus canariensis Willd. and the forests it forms comprise one of the most interesting woodlands, which prevails in southern Iberia with very particular edaphoclimatic envelopes. Combining phytosociological methodology with hierarchical cluster analyses, we aim to update the syntaxonomic scheme of the forests related to this species and the complex matrixes it forms with the hybrid species Quercus marianica C. Vicioso. We propose one new association from Portugal, in a total of four types of Mirbeck's oak woodlands, in Southern Iberia. We conclude the necessity to maintain high standards on taxonomic and geobotanical surveys, with major biogeographic knowledge; it is indissociable from an accurate analysis and comprehension on the functional ecology and structure of these woodlands, regarding its dynamics. Therefore, their high conservation value, related to its relict status, supports the integration of these forests in Habitat 9240 (Annex B-I from Council Directive 92/43/EEC) in order to ensure its preservation.
Abstract Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and folklore are repositories of large amounts of information about the natural world. Ideas, perceptions and empirical data held by human communities regarding local species are important sources which enable new scientific discoveries to be made, as well as offering the potential to solve a number of conservation problems. We documented the gecko-related folklore and TEK of the people of southern Portugal, with the particular aim of understanding the main ideas relating to gecko biology and ecology. Our results suggest that local knowledge of gecko ecology and biology is both accurate and relevant. As a result of information provided by local inhabitants, knowledge of the current geographic distribution of Hemidactylus turcicus was expanded, with its presence reported in nine new locations. It was also discovered that locals still have some misconceptions of geckos as poisonous and carriers of dermatological diseases. The presence of these ideas has led the population to a fear of and aversion to geckos, resulting in direct persecution being one of the major conservation problems facing these animals. It is essential, from both a scientific and conservationist perspective, to understand the knowledge and perceptions that people have towards the animals, since, only then, may hitherto unrecognized pertinent information and conservation problems be detected and resolved.
OTALEX II is the Territorial and Environmental Observatory of Alentejo (Portugal) and Extremadura (Spain), co-financed by POCTEP, developed with the cross-border collaboration of several Portuguese and Spanish bodies. It is composed of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) created in 2007, SDI-OTALEX (www.ideotalex.eu), which is an exchange platform for geographic information and Webmapping services among project partners. The integration of envi- ronmental indicators such as landscape indicators, for the characterization and monitoring of the Alentejo Extremadura area is one of the most relevant components of the project. This paper reports the achievements in defining Local Land- scape Units (LLU) for a pilot area of Central Alentejo - the Pardiela river basin. The methodological approach applied Geographic Information System tools to integrate soils, geomorphology and land cover. The land cover map applies the CORINE Land Cover Legend Level 5 to Central Alentejo at a scale of 1:10,000. This map contains variables related to vegetation, hydrology (streams and water bodies) and human settlements (buildings, equipment, roads). The validation of the results obtained for LLU with previously defined Landscape Units and potential vegetation mapping confirm the reliability and replicability of the present methodology for similar territories.
OTALEX II is the Territorial and Environmental Observatory of Alentejo (Portugal) and Extremadura (Spain), co-financed by POCTEP, developed with the cross-border collaboration of several Portuguese and Spanish bodies. It is composed of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) created in 2007, SDI-OTALEX (www.ideotalex.eu), which is an exchange platform for geographic information and Webmapping services among project partners. The integration of environmental indicators such as landscape indicators, for the characterization and monitoring of the Alentejo Extremadura area is one of the most relevant components of the project. This paper reports the achievements in defining Local Landscape Units (LLU) for a pilot area of Central Alentejo – the Pardiela river basin. The methodological approach applied Geographic Information System tools to integrate soils, geomorphology and land cover. The land cover map applies the CORINE Land Cover Legend Level 5 to Central Alentejo at a scale of 1 : 10,000. This map contains variables related to vegetation, hydrology (streams and water bodies) and human settlements (buildings, equipment, roads). The validation of the results obtained for LLU with previously defined Landscape Units and potential vegetation mapping confirm the reliability and replicability of the present methodology for similar territories.
The scarcity of long-term observational data has limited the use of statistical or machine-learning techniques for predicting intraannual ecological variation. However, time-stamped citizen-science observation records, supported by media data such as photographs, are increasingly available. In the present article, we present a novel framework based on the concept of relative phenological niche, using machine-learning algorithms to model observation records as a temporal sample of environmental conditions in which the represented ecological phenomenon occurs. Our approach accurately predicts the temporal dynamics of ecological events across large geographical scales and is robust to temporal bias in recording effort. These results highlight the vast potential of citizen-science observation data to predict ecological phenomena across space, including in near real time. The framework is also easily applicable for ecologists and practitioners already using machine-learning and statistics-based predictive approaches.